With 30 years behind the counter John Wood and his wife Teresa have nailed the perfect bacon butty.

Their customers know that - and so does the rest of the country after Giltbrook Cob Shop was crowned one of the winners of Britain's Best Bacon Butty competition.

Tradesmen around the country were asked to nominate their favourite establishment by IronmongeryDirect. The Giltbrook shop was named one of the top ten following a month-long hunt.

John, 64, said: "It made my day when I heard that. I'm over the moon.

"It's nice to get some appreciation. We have always tried our best with our customers to give them good service. It's nice to be liked for it."

Running the cob shop six days a week since 1987, John can't begin to imagine how many bacon cobs they've served over the years.

He said: "They are very popular. We are known throughout the UK as we get a lot of travelling workers. We even had a lot of Americans at the time the American Adventure was here, and they would pop in for a butty."

Giltbrook Cob Shop

The secret of their success, said John, is to use good quality products. "We slice our own bacon. People don't like a lot of fat on it so it's trimmed.

"We cook it in front of the customers on a raised cooker to they can have it lightly cooked, medium or well done. Nothing is pre-cooked sitting in a tray."

Most customers have it between two doorsteps of soft white bread, although brown is available for health-conscious customers. Each slice is about two inches thick so a loaf of bread makes just three sandwiches.

Butter? It's down to personal preference.

John added: "We only have established brands when it comes to sauce, HP and Heinz. We always try to use the good stuff. We know they won't let us down."

The competition was launched following a recent survey of 2,014 workers where 72 per favoured a hearty bacon sarnie for their workplace snack.

Giltbrook Cob Shop can be found on Britain's Best Bacon Butty map

All ten winners have been placed on to a dedicated Bacon Butty map, which highlights where in the UK tradespeople can get their hands on the best bacon sandwiches.

Wayne Lysaght-Mason, managing director at IronmongeryDirect, said: "We know that a tradesperson's job can be physically demanding, so it's important to kick-start the day with a hearty breakfast. That's why we launched our competition to find those breakfast heroes who provide the perfect sandwich to keep our nation of workers powering on throughout the day.

"Now tradespeople across the country can visit our dedicated Butty map so they can get their hands on a good breakfast wherever their work takes them."